"This is a rare book--scholarly yet written with verve,
readable for pleasure as well as for knowledge."
--Publishers Weekly

"With keen insight
and deep research, Terry Bouton recovers a lost
world: the agrarian democracy of revolutionary America. His vivid prose
illuminates the struggle of common people to fulfill the promise of the
American Revolution. By retelling their story so fully and fairly, Bouton renews their cause in our present day."
--Alan Taylor, author of The Divided Ground

"For many ordinary
Americans living in Pennsylvania, the Revolution did not turn out as they had
hoped. Committed to the creation of a more egalitarian society, they resisted
British rule, only to discover that the rich and well-born had no interest in
supporting serious democratic reform. In this compelling study, Bouton brings passion and insight to the bittersweet story
of the betrayal of a truly revolutionary society."
--T.H. Breen, Director, Center for
Historical Studies, Northwestern University